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Eurogroup4Animals has presented three awards in recognition of their recipients’ contribution to animal welfare at its Animal Welfare Conference held in Brussels today.
The three awards and their recipients were:
• The EU4Animals Award – Keith Taylor MEP
• The Corporate4Animals Award – LIDL Belgium
• The Campaign4Animals Award – AAP, rescue centre for exotic animals

Eurogroup for Animals and World Horse Welfare are proud to publish ‘Removing the Blinkers: The health and welfare of European equidae in 2015’, the first ever report to investigate the scale of the horse sector in Europe, legislation affecting it and the key health and welfare challenges of the EU’s equids. During the European Parliament Intergroup for Animal Welfare and Conservation* in Strasbourg the two organisations presented the findings of the report, which among other recommendations calls for species specific legislation to protect horses, donkeys and mules who so often fall between the cracks between legislation designed for farm or companion animals.

'Are consumers ready to understand the added value of animal welfare in the food products they consume?’ This was the question asked today at the European Commission’s animal welfare conference in Milan and panellist Reineke Hameleers, Director of Eurogroup for Animals, gave an honest answer: “Consumers will be ready when EU policies and businesses take the necessary steps to better respect animal sentience and improve transparency. Unfortunately, at the moment there is no real and credible commitment from the EU or the wider business community to adequately support such welfare improvements at any significant scale. As a result millions of animals are suffering without consumer knowledge.”

An exception to the EU ban on trade in seal products was deleted by the Internal Market Committee on Thursday. MEPs ruled out EU sales of seal products from “maritime resource management” hunts, in line with a 2014 World Trade Organisation ruling. But another exception, for the Inuit community, whose way of life depends on these products, remains.

Today the European Commission published their response to the European Citizens Initiative (ECI) ‘Stop Vivisection’. The success of this ECI reaching the required million signatures highlighted the fact that animal testing remains a great concern for the citizens of the EU and these concerns must be addressed.

Eurogroup for Animals welcomes the informal agreement that has been reached this week by MEPs, the Latvian Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the European Commission on the proposed EU Animal Health Law, and congratulates MEP Marit Paulsen (ALDE, SE) for her leadership in the Parliament on this file.